Chapter 153: Only Iris in His Eyes

<Smash the Skull> activates.

Even though she couldn’t read the message, she immediately knew which skill had been triggered.

The moment she escaped her terror, an intense headache assaulted her.

Just as her face brightened for an instant, she frowned again and plummeted downward.

“Ugh! Of all times, why now!”

How could she survive this situation? Her head hurt so much she was on the verge of losing her mind.

Just then, her source of confidence—the Chastity Belt—shot out rapidly from between her legs, becoming her savior.

“Bang!”

With a deafening roar, Iris’s body shook from the impact.

Suffering from the headache, she had trouble understanding what was happening, but her ‘ruinous savior’ Chastity Belt must have pulled off something again.

Gasping for air, her headache finally subsided, and as she raised her head, she understood what had happened.

‘I survived… Once again, that Chastity Belt—no, the Chastity Belt has saved me.’

The Chastity Belt that sprang out from between her legs had pierced straight through the window.

It had turned into a long, sturdy rod, saving Iris’s life.

It seemed to have wrapped around some fixture inside the building, holding her up.

As soon as Iris regained her senses, the Chastity Belt must have noticed, because it reeled her in so she could safely climb into the building.

Broken glass shards were scattered across the hallway.

Clicking her tongue as she looked back at the shattered window, she muttered,

“My goodness… It pierced right through the window in an instant. Not that I need to pay for damages at a time like this…”

Iris glanced around, finally feeling at ease. Fortunately, not even a mouse was in sight.

Everyone must have fled due to the Monster outbreak.

That meant there were no witnesses.

Worried someone might come asking about the broken property, she quickly canceled her transformation and hurried down the emergency stairs before anyone could see her.

She was also afraid of running into Laika again.

‘Did Laika use a skill to get to another building? Or did he come inside? If we run into each other again…’

Just thinking of Laika darkened her expression.

His last words echoed in her heart, stinging a corner of her chest.

“If you survive, do your best to avoid me”—those words. Somehow, she felt like Laika had spared her life.

Sure, he’d pushed her off the rooftop, but he hadn’t killed her with his own hands.

If he really wanted to finish her off, an ability-user like him would have used a skill to make sure she was dead.

‘Who knows. Maybe he just didn’t want to get his hands dirty and decided to drop me instead. Who could know what’s in his head?’

She shook her head vigorously. That relationship was over.

Not just over, but completely, irreversibly finished.

If they met again, Laika and Iris would clash as enemies.

Looking down at her now empty hand, she felt the absence of her Ring.

Now that she’d lost the Ring, had she also lost the power she gained from it? Sighing, Iris opened her State Window. But…

‘My power’s still here? Why? Laika took the Ring from me…’

There were no changes at all in her State Window.

She thought her hard-earned Level 10 would drop now that the Ring was gone, but nothing had changed.

‘Has the System not recognized it yet? Or… For now, I need to get out of here.’

Puzzled, Iris hurried her steps. If she stayed here, she might run into Laika, so she decided to check things again once she got home.

Safely out of the building, Iris saw Police Cars arriving one after another at the entrance to the downtown area. Glancing back, she spotted a huge Monster lying defeated.

‘Don’t tell me Johannes was the one who took care of it? Is he really a Villain? I’m starting to doubt the plot of this comic for the first time.’

She lifted her chin and scanned the area, but Johannes was nowhere in sight.

Maybe, after Iris and Laika disappeared, he’d taken down the Monster and then gone searching for the two of them.

Taking out her Hero Phone, she found multiple missed calls from Johannes.

She hadn’t noticed them because her phone was on silent.

Just then, Johannes called again. What should she say?

After thinking up a plausible excuse, she pressed the answer button.

Soon, an urgent voice came through the phone.

– I-Iris! Are you alright? Where, where are you?

“Mmm, Johannes. I was… hiding in the bathroom. Living in Gyodam City, you get used to running and hiding… I’m outside now. I’ll wait for you at the Fountain.”

– I-I’ll be right there!

Iris sat by the Fountain and waited for Johannes.

Meanwhile, one of the police officers hurrying into the busy downtown area spotted her and widened his eyes. Holding a folder, he approached Iris.

“May I have a moment? Did you happen to witness the incident—”

“No, I was hiding in the bathroom. There should be a few more people like me. I didn’t see anything.”

“I see. I’m glad you’re safe.”

She made it clear, before things dragged on, that she wasn’t a witness, and the officer stepped away regretfully.

“Iris!”

A moment later, Johannes shouted her name loudly as he ran toward her.

Because Iris had suddenly disappeared with a Villain, he’d hurriedly defeated the Monster and then frantically searched all over the city for her.

As a result, his hair and clothes were drenched in sweat.

He stopped in front of Iris, resting his hands on his knees, panting heavily.

“I-Iris. Thank, thank goodness… you’re alive.”

He must have run around so desperately—Johannes’s face was flushed red.

Still catching his breath, he took off his suit jacket and placed it on the bench. His dress shirt, soaked with sweat, clung to his body.

“Oh, Johannes. Are you alright? You’re completely soaked in sweat…”

Startled by his appearance, Iris stood up. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped Johannes’s sweaty face, causing him to blush shyly.

“T-thank you… I looked everywhere for you.”

“…I told you I was hiding. We’re both lucky not to have gotten hurt. According to the police, I heard a Hero… defeated the Monster.”

Iris hesitated as she spoke. Making up a lie wasn’t easy.

She knew the Hero Outfit had a Hallucination Function, but she couldn’t help but wonder if Johannes had recognized her.

It must have been hot, as Johannes fanned the front of his dress shirt to cool off, nodding slightly.

There was a lot he wanted to ask, but he held back so as not to alarm Iris.

He was curious about the Villain in the suit, and whether she might have recognized him, but decided to keep quiet.

If he spoke up, it would mean he’d realized Iris was a Hero.

So instead, he uttered a very typical, Gyodam City-citizen sort of thing.

Already prone to stammering, and with nothing genuine to say, his tongue kept tripping.

“I-I hope a time comes when there’s no need for Heroes to be out there…”

“…Mmm, I hope so too. That really would be nice…”

For such words about peace to come from a Villain’s mouth… Iris, dazed, belatedly agreed.

‘You were the one who defeated the Monster, right? Why did you do it? Do you really wish for a peaceful world?’

Questions kept spinning in her head, but she swallowed them.

For the same reason as him.

Once Johannes had cooled down, he slung his suit jacket over his arm, and the two of them walked toward the edge of the downtown area.

Unable to endure the awkward silence, Iris spoke up—not out of real curiosity, but just to fill the time with idle conversation.

“So where did you hide? Didn’t you see the Hero? I’m curious what they look like—it’s a shame.”

“I-I did see the Hero.”

She had expected him to deny it, but surprisingly, he answered affirmatively.

Iris paused for a moment, then asked her question a beat late.

She was curious how Johannes would explain the situation, having been in the thick of it with her.

“…You saw the Hero? What did they look like?”

“Uh, she was really pretty.”

“Huh?”

Startled, Iris looked up and stared at Johannes.

Avoiding her gaze, Johannes stammered on.

The beautiful image of Iris in her Hero Outfit was still vivid in his mind.

As for the Villain, the only thing he remembered was that his outfit was similar to Laika’s.

The details of his face were completely gone from his mind, erased by the sight of Iris.

In Johannes’s head, there was nothing but Iris, and only Iris.